Police in southern Italy say they have seized a large illegal arms shipment from Romania destined for the US. Customs officers in the port of Gioia Tauro, in Calabria, discovered 7,000 Kalashnikov assault rifles after noting irregularities in the documentation. The cargo, estimated to be worth some 6m euros (£3.9m, $7.15m), was declared as arms for civilian, not military, use.
| $7.15 million divided by 7000 = $1,021 each. |
The weapons were discovered on board a ship flying a Turkish flag that had departed from a port in Romania. An American company was reportedly due to receive the cargo. Italian customs police say the ship was bound for New York. The cargo was searched because of discrepancies between the customs declaration, which said the rifles were for civilian use, and the weapons themselves. The load included accessories - bayonets and reloading devices - and has now been confiscated. Although some states allow the purchase of Kalashnikov rifles by collectors, the sheer number of the guns has prompted a judicial inquiry into whether they were in fact destined for military use.
| Sounds like they grabbed a load of semi-auto Kalashnikovs. At over a grand apiece, bayonet and reloading devices included, sounds about right for a brand new civilian model AK. Remember, the bogus assault weapons ban was not renewed, will expire soon. Sounds like someone is stocking up for back to school sales. |
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